


First Date/Last Night

by DryCereal



Series: Off-Stage [3]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 19/10/09, 2009!phan, Enough to drown in, Fluff, M/M, Mixed Signals, Phil is shy, cos who doesn't love a bit of 2009!phan?!, dan is confused, ye be warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-14 01:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15377691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DryCereal/pseuds/DryCereal
Summary: Suddenly he wants to lay all his cards on the table, and see which ones Phil picks up.





	First Date/Last Night

**Author's Note:**

> Meet me halfway  
> A touch and go of don't know what to say  
> Do we talk?  
> *cough*  
> What?  
> Huh?  
> Don't expect too much, just walk
> 
>  
> 
> Cause people can surprise you  
> Or not

Dan once again, for what feels like the hundredth time today, finds himself being almost dragged along in Phil’s wake, long fingers wrapped around his wrist, leading him down yet another city-centre street Dan doesn’t recognise.  
  
Strangely though, he’s not worried and has never been about the fact he’s travelled across the country to meet someone for the first time, someone he’s putting trust in to not get them lost in a city Dan’s never been to before, let alone anything else – he’s heard enough horror stories about meeting strangers online, thank-you-very-much, not least from his understandably concerned parents, to fill a book, but he’s lucked out as far as that goes.  
  
Phil’s exactly the same kind, excitable goof he is online, has been from the moment Dan first caught sight of him in the station concourse, shifting nervously as he waited for Dan to emerge from one of the platforms, through that first awkward but incredible hug right there under the information boards, and through the rest of the day to right now. He’s not been catfished, and he’s reasonably sure he won’t be drugged, kidnapped or murdered in his sleep, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something that worries him, that he’s trying not to show, not to let ruin the day.  
  
Their day.  
  
It’s just… although they’ve done things Phil said he was excited to do with Dan, and they’ve had a great time and Phil’s attention has been focused on Dan throughout, and he’s been incredibly tactile, grabbing and pawing at Dan, keeping him close, guiding him around the city with a hand on the small of his back, or like now, pulling him along half a step behind… there’s not been anything _more_. Not like what was suggestively alluded to and outright _promised_ over late-night, heated, grainy skype calls on the run up to today.  
  
Maybe he’s being daft, he’s not stupid enough to expect Phil would have bent him over one of the benches in the station and had his way with him the moment they met, but there’s been times today when they’ve been close enough and just-about-alone enough for _something_ to have happened, but… nothing. A couple of times it’s felt almost awkward, and he’s hoping like hell Phil didn’t notice, because he never wants to make him feel awkward.  
  
He just wants to know where he stands.  
  
It’d been Phil that had broken the hug in at the station, easing himself away from Dan slightly – he’d never have let go, given the chance, then he’d picked out an out of sight alcove in Starbucks with a squashy sofa they’d squeezed both their lanky, suddenly uncoordinated bodies into, pressed together as they ate a couple too many cakes and sipped at their sugary drinks as they talked about Dan’s train ride north and where Phil wanted to show him that afternoon. There’d been a couple of pauses in the conversation where Dan had turned to Phil when he’d trailed off into silence, only to see him suddenly looking away, a pink flush travelling up his neck and across his face. He’d tried to move (impossibly) closer after that, facing Phil, thinking something might happen if he seemed open to it, inviting even, but no.  
  
The Apple store “int’Arndale” as Phil had called it had been absolutely rammed full of people, but that hadn’t discouraged Phil from having an arm round Dan at times. Admittedly, not whilst they’d been taking photos, but, _still_ …  
  
He’d guided Dan round Affleck’s Palace – a collection of tiny stores in this derelict-looking building down a side street that was filled with all sorts of cool stuff. Dan had bought himself a couple of items of clothing, and it’d been his turn to blush when Phil, suddenly pressed up close as he could be, had murmured in a low, deep voice that he couldn’t wait to see Dan try them on later… But then, when Phil, sex-god façade obviously slipping, had tripped on the uneven stairs not two minutes later and been saved from going head-first down the entire flight by Dan, he’d looked embarrassed to be stood in Dan’s arms, even though there was no one around, staring at each other and…  
  
He’d had no choice but to let him pull away. Yeah. That’d been awkward.  
  
After that, he’d been convinced nothing was going to happen, and whilst he was disappointed that Phil wasn’t as interested as he was in, well… yeah. He’d pulled away slightly, focused on having as much fun as possible. That’d been made easier when their next stop had been to an “American” store, selling all sorts of junk food he’d teased Phil for wanting to buy, and been teased back for “only” getting a couple of things, whereas Phil had stuffed his bag full.  
  
But then… then Phil had taken him to the SkyBar and oh. It was hard to tell himself Phil wasn’t interested when he had picked out a place this amazing and romantic for an early dinner and drinks whilst the sun was setting – being able to see the entire city below was incredible and he’d really thought that was it when Phil had slid his arm round his waist, hidden by the back of their sofa-seat and pressed up close. But when Dan had turned to face him and looked up at him, he’d seemingly… well. Nothing had happened. Again.  
  
He didn’t want Phil to push himself to do something he didn’t want, and he didn’t want to be led on, but he’s fed up of being confused by today’s events.  
  
After they’d finished their drinks, and looked their fill of each other (he’d not had to “catch” Phil staring at him – he’d been able to see it at certain angles, reflected in the glass of the windows – and he’d felt like he was glowing suddenly, and not from the alcohol) and the city below them, Phil had said he had one more place to take him.  
  
At this point Dan is so full and fed up of mixed signals he’s not sure what’s more likely an outcome: a hotel room for them to share and all that would entail, or a lonely, disappointed train journey back south if Phil really doesn’t like him.  
  
Maybe it’s the alcohol in the cocktails he’s been bought, but suddenly he wants to lay all his cards on the table, and see which ones Phil picks up.  
  
He just needs to know. One way or the other, because being this confused is just _fucking_ _unbeara_ -  
  
Oh.  
  
**_Oh._**  
  
Suddenly they turn a corner into an open space in the middle of the city centre. There’s a wheel he somehow hadn’t noticed on their approach, with small cabins set around the outside, and Phil’s stopped and he’s turned towards him with a smile and-  
  
This is **_perfect_**.

**Author's Note:**

> I DID IT!!! SEVEN FICS IN SEVEN DAYS! YEAHHHHH ME! :D
> 
> (I know, I know I said I'd post 6/1550 Ch2... I lied. It'll go up this week tho, promise. I just wasn't in the mood to write anxious/upset Dan, so I hope you enjoyed anxious/confused/happy Dan instead!)
> 
> Song is from "Dogfight" which is an fantastic musical you should all go and see if you ever have the opportunity. ~~or there's a bootleg recording on YT but I don't know where you got that info, certainly wasn't from me, ermmm~~
> 
> I'm always on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DryCerealThief) or [Tumblr](https://drycerealthief.tumblr.com) if you want to shout at me for that, that, or anything else, but I'm off to think up and write a summer fic for tomorrow's flash fest. Gonna be 8 for 8, apparently! Ha!
> 
> <3


End file.
